Stormy Weather

This week at school was a bit shaken up due to testing that either made it so I needed to keep the kids really quiet, or that I was relocated to another room. At least there weren't any quizzes or tests, so there wasn't grading for me to do. The first year students are working on a project that I designed where they need to make a floor plan of at least one floor in their house (measuring everything accurately), turn it into a digital representation, and calculate the perimeter, area, and volume of each room. They are doing a great job with it and seem to be enjoying the work, so hopefully I can come up with more projects like this one!

November has brought about some cold, windy and rainy weather. This means I haven't made much progress on the chest. I also haven't finished the tent because the cable got all jammed up yesterday, and I am still not quite sure how to fix it. I did finish a few things, and a couple friends who came for dinner on Friday after we played squash were pretty impressed.

Naomi got some bad news about her mom this week, had several nights away from home, and a few doctor appointments. Needless to say, she has had a rough time, but is in good spirits now. This morning we went to a little pancake party that our neighbors put together. It was nice to meet some of the people that live near us, although as we live on the end of the street and won't be here for too long, we feel a bit disconnected.

I did get a bit of time to work on the novel since being outside was rather a no-go, so below is the latest little excerpt...

Progress on the chest has been slow lately.

Souleymane meditated on these words as if they came from the Koran itself. They carried him past the temptation to slow down, to let his mind wander, and in his darkest moments, to quit.

Day after day Souleymane grew more disciplined, more focused, and more committed to the vision of Fahim. By the time he could converse, read, and write fluently in both French and Arabic, he had no idea how much time had passed. 

While the other boys stayed together during their daily run into the desert, Souleymane pushed faster and farther past them, gliding over the sand as if it had turned hard like the reddish-brown earth of his birthplace. Every day felt the same. Every day he stretched his mind and body to new limits. He had all but forgotten the shell of the person whom he once was.